AUTHOR=Focke Niels K. , Trost Sarah , Paulus Walter , Falkai Peter , Gruber Oliver TITLE=Do Manual and Voxel-Based Morphometry Measure the Same? A Proof of Concept Study JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry VOLUME=5 YEAR=2014 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00039 DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00039 ISSN=1664-0640 ABSTRACT=

Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) is a commonly used method to study volumetric variations on a whole brain basis. However, it is often criticized for potential confounds, mainly based on imperfect spatial registration. We therefore aimed to evaluate if VBM and “gold standard” manual volumetry are measuring the same effects with respect to subcortical gray matter volumes. Manual regions-of-interest were drawn in the hippocampus, amygdala, nucleus accumbens, thalamus, putamen, pallidum, and caudate nucleus bilaterally. Resulting volumes were used for a whole brain VBM correlation analysis with Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM8). The hippocampus, amygdala, putamen, and caudate nucleus were correctly identified by SPM using the contemporary high-dimensional normalization (DARTEL toolbox). This strongly suggests that VBM and manual volumetry both are indeed measuring the same effects with regard to subcortical brain structures.